Sai's Internet Go games have people around the world guessing who he is. Akira, Hikaru's rival, suspects it's Hikaru himself. He even skips the first day of his pro exam for a re-match with "Sai."

Hiraku struggles to turn his losing streak at the insei school around in time for the Young Lions Tournament, where he could have a chance to play against his rival, Go prodigy Akira Toya. But that's only three months away!

While practicing at Go salons, Hikaru mistakenly insults Suyong Hong, a twelve-year-old who is studying for the pro test in his native Korea. To settle their differences, they must play a grudge match

"Hikaru's classmate Ochi has won enough games to guarantee his place among the top three players who will pass the pro test. Hikaru, on the other hand, still needs to win more games, and he'll soon face his friend Waya and Ochi himself, who has been preparing for their match with Akira's help! When the dust clears, who will be left standing?"--P. [4] of cover

Hikaru ignores Sai's pleas to let him play Go, and then Sai vanishes! Where has he gone? Will he come back? Can Hiraku play with Sai's coaching?

Hikaru tries to handle the demands of being a professional Go player without his mentor's support while preparing to face the prodigy, Akira Toya

"Hikaru is determined to move carefully, step by step, up the ladder of professional go. He pours his energy into it, striving to get closer to his ultimate goal--playing the Divine Move. After many games he finally gets to play a 7-dan, who turns out to be someone he's confronted before, though not in competition. Their mutual animosity fires their competitiveness, pushing them to play with maximum intensity."--P. [4] of cover

"The Hokuto Cup, a new tournament for young players from Japan, China and Korea, is looming, and Hikaru's rival Akira has already secured one of the coveted three places on Japan's team. While Hikaru battles his way to one of the two remaining spots, Akira's father baffles the go world with his unexpected retirement!"--Amazon.com

"Hikaru Shindo is like any sixth-grader in Japan: a pretty normal school boy with a two-tone head of hair and a penchant for antics. One day, he finds an old bloodstained Go board in his grandfather's attic-- and that's when things get really interesting. Trapped inside the Go board is Fujiwara-no-Sai, the ghost of an ancient Go master who taught the strategically complex board game to the Emperor of Japan many centuries ago."--Cover of v. 1